Path of the moon
by LunaHozuki666
Summary: Tsuki's life was never normal to begin with but after the night her family was attacked by a creature known as a hollow, she begins to get herself into her brother's new life, discovering things about herself along the way. Oc warning.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:I do not own Bleach or any of its characters as all credits go to Tite Kubo. I do, however, own my main oc and some minor ones appearing.**

**Me: Hello guys this is Luna and welcome to my third story. I know I've been neglecting my other stories lately but school has been quite hectic lately so yeah. Anyway, this will be the first time I am using an oc that is relating to a main character. Don't worry, I took the Mary-sue test beforehand and she wasn't mary-sue nor to I intend to make her like that ever. Well I hope you enjoy it!**

Quote:

"Our destiny exercizes its influence over us even when, as yet, we have not learned its nature: it is the future thst lays down the law of our today.

~Friedrich Nietzsche

**X.X.X.X.X.X**

As the sun set on the city of Karakura, Japan, the sounds of punches and laughter could be heard beyond the higurashi(cicada) chirps. On an empty street near the city, a group of young men stood over a young girl with shoulder length, spikey orange hair who was now rubbing her cheek. Brown eyes glared fiercely at the leader of the group who had a smug look on his face.

"Little girl, you know you shouldn't have done that. Now I may not like hurting children but I don't like it when someone attacks one of my boys for no reason. So what to you have to say for yourself? The girl didn't answer, settling for just staring at the smug young man. This however only pissed the male off. "So no answer huh? FINE, you asked for it!"

No sooner when he went to punch the girl did he come face-to-face with a fist that sent him flying and knocked him out. The gang and the girl looked to the person responsible for it and noticed a boy with orange spikey hair as well and, safe to say, he did not look happy.

"Ichigo," The girl whispered.

His brown eyes met the girls, examining her before turning back to the gang. One of the boys spoke up angrily. "Do you have a death wish pal. No one jumps one of our boys and gets away with it!"

"Uhn," Was the reply he got.

"What, that's all you can say? Uhn?" The male went to punch Ichigo only to get a foot to his face. He hit the ground and was repeatedly stomped on by the carrot-top.

"Ah, Yamma's down, we gotta help him." "No way." I'm not going to take on that psycho," The 3 other boys said amongst themselves.

The orange haired male continued to stomp on Yamma's face until the ground broke then looked up at the other 3 and shook a fist. "Now listen up you pond scum, you see that?" He asked, pointing at the slightly broken glass vase with flowers at the corner of the street. "First question: What do you think that is? You, the one in the middle, answer!"

The middle guy studdered. "Well uh, I guess those flowers were for some kid that got killed here."

"CORRECT!" Ichigo yelled, falcon kicking the guy. "Now the next question: The vase there, why is it laying on its' side?"

By now the other two were shaking in fear. "I guess one of us must 'ave...knocked it on its side when we were skateboarding through here."

They too were met by a series of punches. "My, you guys catch on pretty quickly. And now for the bonus round: See the girl sitting on her ass behnd me?" He asked, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder to the girl who was now glaring at Ichigo. "Why is her cheek wounded?"

The 3 males looked up at Ichigo in fear then pointed at her. "Sh-she sttacked us first! We knocked over the vase and she attacked one of our boys out of nowhere."

At this, the male drop kicked the ground, nearly hitting them all. "Wrong answer! NOW GO AND APOLOGIZE OR SOON THOSE FLOWERS WILL BE FOR YOU!" The males shrieked in fear, picked up their skateboards and unconscious friends then ran away apologizing.

Ichigo scowled before turning to the 13 year old, sighing and walking up to her. "Jeez Tsuki, are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"Tch, they just got a lucky punch. I would've flattened them if you hadn't shown up,"She retorted.

Ichigo's left eye twitched slightly before offering his hand to her. "Is that anyway to thank your brother who just saved your ass?"

Tsuki took the hand and was pulled up. "Whatever. Anyway, your heroic act will keep them from showing their ugly mugs around here."

Almost in sync, Ichigo and Tsuki turned to the corner of the street where a transparent, floating girl with a chain going down her chest.

"Sorry about that, we'll bring by some new flowers tomorrow,"Ichigo told her.

The ghost smiled. "Thank you both for coming to my defense. I think now I'll be able to rest peacefully."

Ichigo picked up the glass vase and turned it upwards. "No problem, it's the least we could do. After all, you deserve to rest peacefully."

With that, the ghost girl disappeared and Ichigo and Tsuki made their way home.

**X.X.X.X.X**

15 year old Ichigo Kurosaki, a high school student, and his little sister, 13 year old Tsukiyo Kurosaki, were both teenagers whose family runs a small medical business. Whether it was because they were entrusted with the lives of the living, they didn't know but since their younger days they've been able to see the souls of those who haven't moved on. Was it an annoying gift, yes but they dealt with it.

Ichigo opened the gate to their house then opened their front door. "We're home." He announced before being kicked in the face by their goat-faced father.

"You dropped your guard. Always stay alert when you come home and you're late for dinner! Same thing with you young lady!"

In just a nanosecond, Ichigo was on his feet again and pressed his forehead against his father's. "Come on! Is that anyway to greet your own son after he just saved his sister and helped a soul find peace?

"Silence! Oh so now it's their fault huh? I suppose it's their fault that your room isn't clean, when are you going to show some discipline?" And thus began yet another father/son sparring match of idiotic proportions.

Tsuki pinched the bridge of her nose, walked into her house while dodging the stray punches that headed her way, placed her bag down and took a seat next to her youngest sister Karin. Her other sister, Yuzu, handed her a bowl of rice and Tsuki began to eat, trying to ignore the scene behind her.

The ever concerned Yuzu looked over at the brawling males and tried to break it up. "Hey, cut it out you two! Come over here and eat your dinner."

"Just let them fight, more for me?" Karin replied in a dead-panned tone, bringing her bowl towards Yuzu in a gesture for seconds.

"That's not very nice Karin," She said, filling her younger twin's bowl again.

Tsuki looked at the fight from the corner of her eye and closed her eyes. "Don't worry, it'll be over in just a minute."

And true to her words, with just one kick to the face, Ichigo sent his father flying to the wall. "I gotta tell ya dad, a pretty normal, healthy high school kid with a 7 o' clock curfew is totally uncool!"

"Speaking of uncool, Ichigo, you have a new one,"Karin told him.

Ichigo blinked and looked behind him and jumped at the sight of a new ghost hanging over his shoulder. "Hey, how long have you been there! Take a hike will ya!" He yelled, trying to get the ghost away from him.

Tsuki sighed and stood up. "Whatever, I'm going to my room. Thanks for dinner Yuzu."

"Now just hold it there yound lady!" The now recovered Isshin yelled, pointing as his eldest daughter. "Don't think for one second that your tardiness will go unpunished. You need to learn some discipline along with your brother and..." His ranting was stopped when Tsuki threw her shoes at his face, knocking him to the floor. She walked upstairs and entered her fairly normal room and closed the door.

Her walls here painted a dark blue color and all over the walls were of famous bands, including Within Temptation and Evanescence from America. She had a working desk across from her bed which was against the north wall, a closet was a few feet away from there and a window on the left wall to her bed. She sat them layed down onto her bed, crossed her arms under her head and stared at the ceiling.

'Man, it seems that Nii-san has been seeing spirits more often lately. Yes I can see them as well as he and Karin can, but they seemed more attracted to him. I wonder why' Tsuki yawned loudly. 'Well, no use in dwelling over it' The orange haired girl turned to her side and stared out her window at the moon before her eyes closed and she fell asleep.

**X.X.X.X**

The next morning, a disgruntled Tsuki slammed on the off button of her alarm clock and covered her face with a pillow to block out the rays of the sun, trying to get some more sleep.

But this soon failed once her door flew open and her father came in with a speaker phone in hand.

"GOOD MORNING MY LOVELY DAUGHTER! TODAY IS A GREAT DAY TO WALK OUT AND SUCK IN THE NATURAL BEAUTY OF OUR WORLD! SO WAKE UP AND EMBRACE THE BOSOM OF YOUR LOVELY DADDY!" Soon the goat faced man was hunched over, clutching the place where the sun don't shine with a very pissed off Tsuki hovering over him. She glared at her idiot of a father, kicked him out of her room, got dressed in her school uniform and walked down into the kitchen.

Yuzu was at the table with Karin and Ichigo. She smiled when she noticed Tsuki. "Good morning Nee-chan! Come here and have some breakfast!"

Tsuki huffed, took her seat next to Karin and began to eat.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow before giving his sister his trade-mark smartass grin. "He woke you up and pissed you off badly, didn't he?"

"Biggest understatement of a century. He used that stupid speaker phone of his too," Tsuki retorted.

Karin sighed. "Jeez, you'd think that a 40 year old man would be more mature than that but I guess our family wasn't so fortunate."

Before the 4 Kurosaki siblings could blink, their father(how the hell did he recover so quickly?) was crying against the poster of their mother. "Oh Masaki, our children are beginning to outgrow and scorn this old man. They are becoming so cruel to me!"

Karin growled and turned around in her chair. "For the last time, take down that damn poster!"

Getting more frustruated than he already was, Ichigo stood up from the table and went to turn on the news. There was a showing of an explosion just outside of the Karakura station and many newscasters and bystanders were standing outside of the explosion. Many buildings in the surrounding area of the were damaged heavily as well.

"Hey, that's near here," Ichigo said, concern starting to edge in his voice.

Tsuki was worried as well as she stared at the tv screen. Her brown eyes narrowed before closing as she got up and retrieved her bag. "Well I'll see you later guy."

Her siblings said their goodbyes and Tsuki headed down the street, and to the city. For some reason, the feeling of the atmosphere was getting to be a bit eerie and much more dense. She didn't know what it was but she didn't like it.

Tsuki was about halfway to her school when an explosion northwest of her caught her attention. The orange haired girl sprinted to the scene and stopped at the corner of a building when she saw her brother and the ghost girl from yesterday being chased by a huge creature that she's never seen before. Its' body was like that of a praying mantis, its' face was covered in a white mask, glowing gold eyes peered out of it and a hole was right where the heart would normally be.

Her breath hitched when she recognized the air around the creature as the one she felt in the city. Something about it nearly scared the living crap out of her.

She watched as the girl tripped over her feet and her brother turn around to help her out. The creature caught up to them, making its' move to eat them but was soon stopped by a young girl clad in black that seemed to come out of nowhere. She unsheathed a sword and swung in through the creatures mask, sending its' blood everywhere. It roared once more before it was cut through again by the girl and disappeared into the air.

Tsuki's eyes were wide at what she had just witnessed. Part of her wanted to go after the girl, who walked away and disappeared, and ask her what the hell happened and what that thing was but the other part of her held her back and made her continue her way to school.

**X.X.X.X**

It was late into the night when Tsuki woke up from a surprise, surprise 3 hour nap. She ran a hand through her unruly hair then clasped her hands behind her head and stared at the ceiling.

'I can't grasp what happened earlier today. Just what was that creature with the white mask and who was that samurai girl. I've never seen anything like it.'

Silence overcame her for a few moments as she turned over to stare at the still full moon.

Suddenly, a familiar energy and howling pierced that silence. Screaming came after that and caused the 13 year old to jump out of her bed and run down the stairs.

"Yuzu! Karin!"

When Tsuki got to the bottom of the stairs, she saw a creature much like the one before beyond the giant hole in their house and in the monster's hand was Karin.

Protective instincts overcame Tsuki as she picked up a wooden beam on the floor and charged at it. "Let go of my little sister, you monster!"

The creature looked in Tsuki's direction and before she could strike at it, it used its' free hand, hit her and sent her flying into the side of the house.

Blood came out of her mouth and the air was nearly knocked out of her. She managed to keep herself awake as she struggled to get up, only getting her upper half up to stare the monster.

Finally, the creature spoke in an odd voice. **"Ahh, you may not be the one I am looking for here today but your soul will be quite delicious, girl"**

Tsuki gritted her teeth and began to shake in both anger and fear when, suddenly, Ichigo came charging at the creature with a metal chair. It proved futile as the fish-like creature punched him and he landed a few feet away from her.

Ichigo shook from the force of the impact and opened his eyes to see Tsuki next to him. "Tsuki."

He looked up when the creatures' shadow loomed over him. It went to attack again but its' arm was cut by the girl from before, making it let go out Karin and vanished.

Ichigo caught the now unconscious girl, his eyes and mouth wide in disbelief. "Karin, hey!"

"Its' okay, the hollow left without devouring any of your sisters' souls. For some reason, their souls weren't the ones that it was after. And what's even weirder is that your own spirit energy was suppressed until just now. So that means, the hollow is really after you," The black haired girl explained, her purple eyes meeting Ichigo's brown ones.

Anger surged through Ichigo at the news revealed to him. He looked at Tsuki and Karin, and thought about Yuzu when she came up to his room injured. This was all because of him? His sisters were hurt because of him? Damn it!

Within a few moments, the hollow appeared before them again.

"It's here again! Get out of here!

Ichigo stood up. "No! So what you're saying is that my sister's are in danger because of me?"

"That's one way to look at it."

That made Ichigo run up to the creature and stand in its' path. "Coward, stop attacking other! It's my soul you want so come and get it. Fight me one-on-one, you ugly bastard!"

The hollow roared and moved to kill.

Tsuki screamed. "ICHIGO!"

Just when the hollow seemed to have its' next meal, the girl came in between Ichigo and the hollow, taking the blow. She used her sword to make it let go and fell to the ground woth blood pouring out of her wounds.

"Soul reaper!" Ichigo called out.

"...You fool. How could you have possibly thought that you were any match for a hollow. Did you think it would be over if you simply gave him your soul, one soul doesn't satisfy him for long. If you keep this up, we'll just end up being his food." The soul reaper managed to pull herself up and get into a sitting position against a light pole. "Tell me, do you want to save your family?"

"What, of course I do. If there's a way then show me how," Ichigo replied.

"There's only one way. You must become a soul reaper yourself," She said, holding up her sword. Run my zanpakuto through the center of your being so that I may pour my powers into you. I can't guarantee it will work but it's the only choice we have."

By this time, the hollow had recovered and was slowly making its' way to the two.

Ichigo smirked. "Give me that blade, Soul Reaper."

"My name is Rukia. Rukia Kuchiki"

Ichigo took the blade in his hand. "And my name is..Ichigo Kurosaki!" He pulled the blade towards him and a bright flash of light forced itself from him.

Once she took her arm away from her eyes, Tsuki gawked at the sight before her. Ichigo was now clad in a black shihakusho(soul reaper uniform) and he heaved a large blade over his shoulder. She watched in awe as her brother destoryed the hollow with his massive blade.

"So, the time has finally come eh?"

Tsuki jumped at the sound of a new voice next to her. She turned her head to see a blonde haired, middle aged man wearing a green and white hat and clogs. He had a paper fan in one hand and a cane in the other.

"Who..who are you?" She asked in barely a whisper.

The man tried(and failed) to cover his amused grin with his fan before kneeling down to the middle schooler. "All in good time, little Tsuki. All in good time."

She was about to ask how he knew her name but he snapped his fingers in front of her face and she knew nothing more.

* * *

Me: So that's the first chapter of my Bleach story. I hope you enjoyed it! I promise to review my other stories later as well. In the meantime, RATE AND REVIEW!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or its characters or most of the storyline. Credits to those go to Tite Kubo. I, however, own Tsuki and maybe some minor ocs that may or may not appear.

**Me: Hello everyone and welcome to the next installment in "Path of the Moon". I do hope you will take the time to read my stories and review them.**

**Tsuki: They better or there will be hell to pay*glares***

**Me: Now Tsu-chan play nice**

**Tsuki:*crosses her arms over her chest and scowls at me***

**Me: *sweatdrops* Now onto the story!**

" "-Talking

' '-Thinking

**

* * *

**When Tsuki woke up, she found herself in her bed and it was morning. She sat up in her bed and was suprised to find out that she wasn't sore or in any pain.

'..the hell? Was that a dream or...'

The 13 year old and headed downstairs only to find her family standing outside of the gigantic hole in the side of their house.

'Well that dismisses that. But how come I'm not in any pain. And Karin and Yuzu..'

"Oh, good morning Nee-chan," Yuzu's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Are you okay?

Tsuki blinked. "Yeah and what about you and Karin?

Yuzu tilted her head in confusion. "What are you talking about Tsuki? Karin and I are fine. We were lucky to sleep through the whole thing."

This only raised her confusion even more as she followed her sister to the rest of her family and stood next to her brother.

"It's a miracle! A truck crashes into our home and none of us got even a scratch!"Their father yelled, hands on his hips.

"What's even more of a miracle is that none of us even woke up when it happened,"Karin said.

Tsuki stared at the hole in their house before glancing at Ichigo who also had a confused look on his face.

'I wonder...does he remember too?' A thought came to her mind. 'Maybe this has something to do with that Rukia girl and that man...'

The man clad in a hat and clogs from last night made Tsuki's eyes narrow. She didn't even know who he was..and yet he knew her name. Whoever he was, Tsuki was determined to find him and get some answers.

"Hey," Ichigo's voice caught her attention."Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm going to go upstairs and change,"She said before running up the stairs, knowing that Ichigo was staring at her the whole time.

**X.X.X.X.X**

Damn! She just couldn't concentrate! The events of yesterday plagued Tsuki's mind all throughout school. She did manage to get through the school day without getting in trouble with her fellow students for once. That was a good thing.

The orange haired girl went home early, avoided yet another crazy attack from her father, helped her sisters clean up some of the mess and headed to her room to take a nap. As she flopped onto her bed and let sleep consume her, one last thought went through he mind.

'What's going to happen next?'

**X.X.X.X.X**

Tsuki woke up about two hours later. She sat up, stared at her sheets for a couple of minutes then got up and headed to her brother's room.

'I need to know! Ichigo, just what the hell is going on?'

**"KYAAAAAAAAAH"**

The familiar dense aura made Tsuki's heart skip a beat, She stopped at the corner of her brother's room and peeked through the crack in the doorway. There she saw Ichigo battling another hollow with black hair, red eyes and a snake like body. It had a hold of his blade when,suddenly, part of its mask cracked and broke, revealing part of a human face.

'What the...'

The hollow roared and escaped into a black hole.

"It's getting away! We have to go!" Rukia, who was one the sidelines of the fight, told him before heading to the window.

When the teenager didn't move from his spot or reply, Rukia looked at him questionably. "Ichigo, what's the matter?"

"I got a look at that thing's face...and it was Orihime's dead brother!"

Tsuki's eyes widened at that. She didn't know Orihime other than that she was a friend of Tatsuki's and went to Ichigo's school. But she remembered the accident that happened when she was 10 years old. Her family had taken in a 27 year old man who had been in a car accident. He died before they could treat him and his sister cried the entire time she was there, calling out to her brother.

Rukia stared at him for a few minutes then sighed. "A piece of advice: when attacking a hollow, come from behind and cleave its' head with one blow. This is a basic method for any soul reaper."

"Why?"

"First, it will keep your injuries to a minimum and hopefully keep you from learning the true identity of a hollow," She replied calmly.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked, his voice getting a grave edge to it.

"Don't you get it, the hollows were once ordinary human souls."

This news hit both Ichigo and the eavesdropping Tsuki hard.

'So, those things from yesterday were...NO!' The very thought of killing off a human soul sickened Tsuki to her core. She resisted the urge to barge in there and yell at Rukia but restrained herself and continued to listen on.

"You-you never told me that. I thought that they were just monsters from hell that needed to be wiped out!"

Rukia grew very serious. "You're right, he is just a monster now and he must be destroyed.

"But it was human,"Ichigo tried to reason with her and possibly himself.

"It can't be helped. Souls that hold onto feelings like anger or regret will resist konso and either become hollows on their own or are devoured by other hollows and become one of them," Rukia explained.

Ichigo was now shaking. "I just don't get it. Why would Orihime's brother attack me?"

"I don't know but my guess is that there is a more powerful hollow behind this that wants to devour your spirit energy. It probably has other hollows under its' control and it's using the other hollows as bait to lure you. That would explain why Orihime's brother was attacking you,"Rukia said, gritting her teeth.

At that, Ichigo shot forward and grabbed the front of Rukia's pajama top. "And you expect me to kill him now?"

"Yes cause if you don't then he'll just wander around forever and he'll keep attacking you again and again until he gets your soul!" Rukia yelled back before her eyes widened in realization. "Wait, you aren't the only one in danger!"

"Who else would he want!"

"Orihime, his sister!"

Ichigo growled then placed Rukia on his back and jumped out the window.

Now that they were gone, Tsuki walked into his room and stared out the window and tried to comprehend what she just heard. Obviously now that her brother had gotten into some pretty deep crap. Her fists baling up at her side, Tsuki ran out of Ichigo's room, down the stairs, out of her house and followed the retreating form of her brother and Rukia.

**X.X.X.X.X**

By the time Tsuki made it to Orihime's place, Rukia was standing outside of her house. Then the upstairs window exploded and Ichigo came out, skidding across the air.

Though it was very faint, Tsuki could feel a similar energy to the hollows coming out of her brother before it disappeared as soon as it came. She tucked that away for future reference and watched as the hollow with Orihime in his grasp slammed Ichigo down to the ground.

Rukia ran up to his side, calling out his name and shaking his body. After a few minutes, Ichigo got up and rubbed his aching and bleeding head. "Are you hurt?"

"What do you think?" Ichigo asked rhetorically.

"Listen, that hollow may have been her brother once but now it's nothing but a monster. You have to destroy him. It has no heart so put your feelings aside and finish the job!"

Tsuki gritted her teeth and lowered her head. 'How can it be that easy?'

Ichigo stayed silent for a minute before jumping up to the hole in Orihime's window. Rukia ran into the house after him.

Tsuki waited impatiently for something to happen and got her wish when the hollow Sora flew out, her brother coming out next.

Ichigo raised his blade up to strike at the hollow but seemed to hesitate.

"What are you waiting for you fool, finish him off!"Rukia yelled.

It proved too late, however, when the hollow spit acid at Ichigo's hands, making him lose grip of his sword and slammed him to the ground. Once the orange haired teen landed on his feet, the hollow swooped down quickly to finish him off.

But it never came. Orihime got in the way, blocking the blow intended for Ichigo while managing to hug her brother in the process. "Ori-hime," He said softly.

"I'm sorry brother, but I just had to save Ichigo because this is all my fault, because I begged you to not leave me all alone. And that is why, you were never able to find peace. I always sensed that you were watching over me, even yesterday when that car almost ran me over. I have this bruise on my leg because you pulled me out of the way in time. I thought if I just showed you how happy I was then you would finally rest in peace. I never imagined that it would make you feel lonely, I would never want that for you," Orihime finished and caught herself before she hit the ground.

The hollow began to shake and his mask disappeared and reappeared in quick succession.

"Rukia, what the hell's wrong with him?" Ichigo asked.

"The human soul of the brother is struggling against the hollow within. Evidently this one didn't become a hollow on his own. He must have been taking over by a stronger hollow so he would attack you and since you knew him in life, you would hesitate which, in fact, you did. Right now the brother is fighting that hollow, for his sister's sake."

"Ori-hime!" The hollow called out one last time before the mask cracked and fell apart, revealing the face of Sora Inoue.

Orihime looked at her brother in relief before falling over.

Ichigo and Sora ran up to Orihime, who was now being taken care of by Rukia.

"Don't worry,"Rukia said. "As long as the chain of fate is still connected, she won't die. I just need to heal her."

Sora let out a sigh of relief then turned around and grabbed Ichigo's sword.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

"I have to hurry before the hollow takes over and changes me, back into a monster."

"Wait, what!"

"Ichigo!"Rukia yelled. "It's okay, he's making the right choice. Once you turn into a hollow, you can never go back to who you once were."

"But Rukia..."

"Don't worry, you'll learn that slaying a hollow isn't the same thing as killing it. It's just exorcising it so it can be accepted into the soul society. This is the job of a soul reaper: to help all souls find their way and finally rest in peace."

Sora nodded and raised the blade to pierce himself but was stopped when Orihime called out his name.

The orange haired girl lifted herself up and began to explain how they had gotten into an argument over her hairpins the day he died. And that she never got to see him off.

"Have a good day Sora," She said.

Her brother smiled and impaled himself with the blade, causing him to disintegrate into spirit particles.

Orihime broke down and was comforted by Rukia.

**XxXxXxX**

From behind the corner, Tsuki sighed at the scene before her. 'Well, I guess I'm not needed here.'

The 13 year old turned to go home, and hopefully make it there before her brother did, but when she got a few blocks away from the house, she stopped, brown eyes widened.

Standing in the middle of the street was the man wearing a hat and clogs and carrying a cane from the night before, a wide grin spread across his face and a shadow covering his eye. "Well, well little Tsuki. It looks like we meet again." His voice carried obvious amusement in it and Tsuki didn't like it one bit.

She narrowed her eyes and pointed at him. "Okay, who the hell do you think you are and how the hell do you know my name?"

His grin grew wider if possible and he began walking towards Tsuki, making the girl get into a defensive stance. He stopped a few feet in front of her and reached into his pocket, pulling out a slip of paper and handing it to her. "I'd love to give you the answers to the many questions you have but this isn't the time or place to do so."

Tsuki stared at the slip of paper before taking in slowly and opening it. Written on it was a rather poorly drawn map and the words "Urahara Shoten."

Brown eyes furrowed and she looked up to question him to see him already gone.

"Hey wait, where the hell did you go? I wasn't finished!"

"If you want your answers then follow the map to Urahara Shoten tomorrow afternoon," His voice echoed.

Tsuki stood there frozen, trying to decide whether to be mad that he left her there without interpreting anything or confused as to how he disappeared so quick, before shoving the map in her pocket and sprinting home.

'Well, I guess I'll find out tomorrow?'

* * *

Me:Well, I hope you enjoyed the second chapter in "Path of the moon." Please review this for me. Any criticism is accepted, I just need to know what I am doing right and wrong. Oh and as for the part where tsuki sensed hollow energy coming from ichigo when he skidded across the air, he didn't know how to stand on the air at that point so I believe that his hollow had something to do with it somehow. after all, Hichigo has been with ichigo for over 6 years, ichigo just didn't know it or rather, hichi-kun wasn't awakened until ichigo got his shinigami powers. Just to clarify!

Signing out

Luna


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: This will be the last disclaimer I will be posting up since I think you already get the picture. Bleach is not owned by me, all credits go to Tite Kubo(who I will kill if Ichigo doesn't get his powers back soon in the manga) but I do own Tsuki and maybe some minor ocs later on in the story.**

**Me:Wow, I have been working on this story a lot haven't I? Well, currently it is my baby and I really enjoy it. And I'm sorry for the late update but better late than never, I guess! I hope you all enjoy the next installment in "Path of the moon"!**

**Tsuki: We'll be here all day!**

**XxXxXxXxX**

Tsuki woke up the next morning already lost in thought. Last night's fiasco really had her hung up on everything and she still couldn't quite grasp the thought at what her brother had gotten himself into. Everything with soul reaper and hollows just came by so quickly. And then there was that Urahara guy that somehow managed to get on her nerves.

Before heading downstairs, she grabbed the folded up, badly drawn map on her nightstand and stared at it. Tsuki then recalled what he told her last night.

_'Come by the Urahara Shoten tomorrow afternoon for all the answers you seek.'_

Tsuki glared at the map. Why the hell should she trust this guy? For all she knows, he's a psychotic pervert and is just stalking her. She ran a hand through her orange hair. But then again, he seemed to know a little too much about everything and it was well worth the risk.

**XxXxXxXxX**

"Good morning Tsuki," Yuzu greeted her older sister as the 13 year old came down the stairs.

Tsuki turned brown eyes towards her own and nodded before sitting. Her eyes came to the seat where Ichigo normally sat then turned to Karin. "Where's Ichigo?"

"Mmm? He left early for school this morning."

She raised an eyebrow and narrowed her eyes. 'I wonder...'

In a nanosecond, Isshin popped up behind Tsuki and Karin, making the two jump slightly. "A boy his age, for him to go to leave home this early, there's only one reason and one reason only...ARGH!" The goat-faced doctor couldn't complete his sentence when his eldest daughter hit him in the face with her backpack.

"Enough with the dramatic crap goat face," She growled.

"OOH MASAKI!" Isshin yelled, running to the poster on the kitchen wall. "OUR CHILDREN ARE BECOMING SO CRUEL TO ME!"

Tsuki scowled, got out of her seat and headed out the door. "I'll see you guys later!"

"Bye onee-chan!" Yuzu yelled.

She waved then began a paced jog to school.

**XxXxXxXxX**

"Geez, there's not even a trace of that burn left. It's nearly healed in just one day," Ichigo said to Rukia in wonder as he examined his healed wrists and forehead which were injured by the hollow, Acidwire, just the night before.

A rather proud look came upon Rukia's face as she put her hands on her hips. "Don't be so surprised, I got all the best grades in my kido class and I have a talent for it. Healing your wounds was easy."

"What, you mean they actually have a school for soul reapers?"

"You could call it that," Rukia said before holding up a juice box. "How do I open this?"

Ichigo raised an orange brow. "You have to poke it with the sharp end of your straw."

"What straw?" Before Rukia began to examine her juice box to look for said straw, she looked up at the substitute soul reaper. "Um, may I ask you another question?"

"You want to know where the straw is?" He asked in his famous smartass tone.

"Not that you idiot! I was just wondering, about your sisters, can they see spirits as well?"

Ichigo blinked and turned his gaze to the sky. "Well, Karin and Tsuki can see them as well as I can but Yuzu is only able to see their outlines and is able to sense their presense sometimes."

"For how long?"

"Um, I think Tsuki's been able to see them ever since she was really young but I only found that out around 6 years ago. Karin's the same way although she's in permenant denial about it." Ichigo looked at Rukia out of the corner of his eye. "Why do you want to know?"

"Oh, no reason," Rukia shrugged and turned her attention back to her juice box. Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows at her then looked in the opposite direction.

In reality, Rukia was rather worried. Unlike Ichigo, who didn't know how to sense the spiritual energy of anyone other than hollows, Rukia was able to sense Tsuki's spiritual energy the night at Orihime's. How long the 13 year old was there, Rukia knew not but this only meant that Tsuki was able to see hollows and shinigami. Not only that but she now knew about her brother's life as a substitute soul reaper. Judging from Ichigo's behavior, he probably didn't know that his sister knew.

'Although I think that's for the best. If high spiritual pressure runs in the Kurosaki family, it could be a real problem if Tsuki keeps getting herself involved in this. And knowing Ichigo, he'll probably end up making a big deal out if it and cause even more problems. Ah such a mess.'

**XxXxXxXxX**

After school, the first thing Tsuki did was follow the map given to her by the mysterious man known as Urahara. Well, only if you call swiggly lines and and houses that resembled bunny rabbits a map.

The teen sweatdropped. 'If he wanted me to meet him, he could've at least made the map better.'

Two blocks, many dead ends and street corners later, Tsuki finally spotted an old shop just coming into vision.

'Well, this must be it.' She put the map in her pocket then began to run towards the isolated shop.

"JINTA HOMERUN!"

"Ah, watch out!"

"Huh?" Before Tsuki even know what hit her, a baseball came zooming at her, hitting her in the forehead and causing her to hit the ground. She gritted her teeth, clutching her forehead, which now had a nice, large bruise smack-dab in the center on it and managed to sit up. "Ah, what the hell was that?"

"Aw man!" A red haired child whined. "That would've been a perfect homerun!" And before the red haired kid could blink, Tsuki stood up and grabbed the back of his shirt, bringing him to eye level. "Okay you little brat, what the hell was that for?"

"Hey don't blame me, you're the one who got in my way!"

Lightning crackled between them as the staring contest ensued.

"JINTA!"

Feeling of impending doom ran down his spine as he struggled in Tsuki's iron grip.

Tsuki blinked rapidly and slowly looked up as a tall, tall man with glasses and a mustache towered over them. His glasses seemed to sparkle as he stared at the two below him. A giant hand rose and took Jinta out of her grip.

"Hurp! I thank you for catching my student and apologize on his behalf."

"Uhh, you're welcome?"

The giant grabbed Jinta from her grip, making the kid struggle even more. "Ngh! Tessai, put me down!"

"Now listen here boy!" Tessai began, bringing Jinta to eye level.

"Hey, what's with all the noise out here?" A new voice joined, interrupting Tessai's soon-to-be lecture.

Tsuki looked behind the giant and glared once she saw Urahara walking towards them, fan and cane in hands. This, in turn, caused the blonde's grin to grow wider.

"Why hello, Little Tsuki. I'm so glad you could make it."

The cool and sort of smug tone in his voice, along with the "Little Tsuki" nickname, only served in pissing the none to please girl off.

"Cut the crap Urahara! You know what I'm here for."

"Of course!" He said, making a waving gesture with his arms as he did so. "Follow me and we'll get started.

Tsuki scowled when he turned away and started to the shop but sighed and followed.

**XxXxXxXx**

"Would you like some tea?" Urahara asked, holding out a small green cup to Tsuki who was sitting at the table.

Brown eyes blinked then a nod came before she took the cup in her hand.

Tessai had also joined with the little group after he gave the little red head a lecture and sent him sweeping. His silence and unmoving posture creeped Tsuki out to no end but she ignored it and drank some of her tea while she waited for the mysterious shop keeper.

"Alright." Urahara began, coming into the room from the kitchen with his own cup of tea and sitting down.

"So, Lit...I mean, Miss Tsuki, it's safe to assume that you've been aware of the existence of spirits for a long time now?"

Raising an orange eyebrow, Tsuki nodded. "Since I has young."

"And these last two days were the only times you've seen the hollows?"

*Nod*

Urahara nodded to the silent giant next to him who took out a sketch book and a black marker and started to draw quickly.

The ending result was immediately reminiscent to the artworks Tsuki had done when she was 5 years old.

"Basically, Pluses are human spirits who are unable to pass on to the otherside. Hollows, as I'm sure you're aware of, are negative spirits that were the result of a Plus being unable to crossover. They gain an eternal hunger and have the need to devour souls, living or dead, starting with the people they were closest to when they were alive."

A cold feeling washed over Tsuki as she thought back to the night before. "Why?"

"That we don't know. All we know is that once the hollows have set their sights on a target, they will never leave that being alone until they get that soul. So, to stop this from happening, Soul reapers are sent from the soul society to cleanse the hollows and perform konso on wandering Pluses."

"And that's what my brother is right now. And that's what Rukia is as well."

"Not exactly. While it is true that Miss Kuchiki is a soul reaper, Ichigo is only a substitute soul reaper. The difference is is that Ichigo's shinigami powers came from Rukia and they aren't really his."

"Hm." It made sense. However, the hollow-like feeling she got from her brother when he skidded across the air came to mind. She didn't know where it had come from but it sure as hell didn't come from Rukia.

Urahara then went to explain that Soul reapers live in a place called the Seireitei, the place that most humans would call Heaven, and mentioned 4 people that were apparently very important to the Seireitei. He didn't go into much detail about them, which ticked Tsuki off a bit, only saying that they were its' oldest inhabitants. Hollows lived in a place called Hueco Mundo and can travel freely to the living world and sometimes the Seireitei. It was the job of a soul reaper to purify a hollow's soul and allow the human in it to pass on to the Rukongai.

After he was finished, a moment of silence passed over them as the 13 year old took this in. Her eyes were narrowed at the floor before looking at the shopkeeper. "So, how do you fit in to all this? And why tell me?"

At this, a particularly amused grin spread across his face and he tried, and failed, to hide it with his fan.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that first question. However...," Urahara got up and began to walk away then stopped and turned to the curious teenager. "If you want your answer to that question, then follow me." With that, he walked deeper into the shop.

Tsuki stared at the room he disappeared into with a suspicious look in her eyes then looked at Tessai for answers, only to be met with a stone-like face.

"Uh, I have a real bad feeling about this."

* * *

Me: I hope you enjoyed this chapter and sorry if it's a little boring seeing as its' mostly for explanitory purposes. The next chapter will be like this but have a couple of action scenes in it. Again sorry for the late update and I promise to try and update this story and the others a little faster. 'til next time!

~signing out

LunaHozuki


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